5 and 3 Stars for Black and Blue Love: A Lesbian Novel by Judy Folger #FF #DomesticViolence #SameSexAbuse #Lesbian Abuse @Judy_Folger

Title: Black and Blue Love: A Lesbian Novel
Author Name: Judy Folger
Publication Date & Length: August 24, 2013 – 131 pgs

After Kallie Moran’s husband, Aaron, is killed in Iraq, Kallie asks her law firm to transfer her back to her home town so she can be close to her mother.

When her request is granted, she realizes that closeness to her mother also means closeness to her mother’s dreadful sister, Bessie Benson.

Bessie is loud and crass, and her sons make a lifestyle of rotating in and out of the county jail. The only Benson that Kallie has ever been able to tolerate is her cousin, Andi. Andi, too, once dreamed of getting out of Brookville, but unlike Kallie, she never quite made it.

Now an out lesbian, Andi drags her intimidated partner, Della, to local bars and out-of-control family affairs. Della seems so miserable that Kallie finds herself reaching out to this beautiful, fragile-looking woman who just doesn’t seem to belong among the Bensons.

As Kallie and Della become friends, Kallie witnesses the verbal and emotional abuse Andi heaps on Della. Then comes the terrible night when Andi is no longer able to confine herself to words and slams Della to the ground, permanently scarring her face.

Della flees to Kallie for protection. In relative safety, she struggles to face the fact that she is a victim of lesbian domestic violence. She is also falling hard for Kallie, her rescuer.

Kallie, meanwhile, is keeping some secrets of her own. She wants to be with Della as much as Della wants to be with her, but she is afraid to embark on her first lesbian relationship.

Their love blossoms when Kallie risks her life to save Della from another of Andi’s vicious attacks. But it doesn’t take Andi long to realize she’s been betrayed. Furious, drunk, and carrying her father’s hand gun, she vows that this time she will REALLY make Della and Kallie pay.

As the title suggests this is a tale of growing attraction and deepening love between Kallie, an attorney, and Kallie’s cousin Andrea’s partner, Della, and the circumstances and actions which result in domestic violence.

Kallie starts off as a strong, forceful professional woman, Della the quiet, gentle one, however, as the story unfolds we see the roles becoming reversed. Ms Folger does an excellent job with these intriguing characters, I was particularly impressed with the way she developed the character of Andrea, the protagonist. Obviously well researching the  characteristics associated with domestic violence, Ms Folger manages to make us understand  Andrea, and, to some extent her actions, without ever condoning the horrors which are domestic violence.

Despite the serious and horrifying aspects of this story line Ms Folger keeps her novel uplifting and yes, enjoyable, there are many light hearted moment involving each of the main characters families and the story is so well  presented I found myself unable to put it down until I found out how the characters and tale would finally unfold.

This is the first novel I have read by this author but I will certainly be reading more!!!

Chris

Kallie Morgan is transferred to her hometown by her law firm where she hopes to reconnect with her cousin/best friend, Andi Benson.  However, she doesn’t get to spend much time with her because Andi is out of town because of work more often than not.  Kallie does connect with Andi’s partner Della, who works at the local furniture store.

The relationship between Della and Kallie is rushed.  Della feels that Kallie is the one for her right after she meets her.  It would have helped the story if the friendship aspect had been explored.

Kallie does spend a rare moment with Andi and finds out that when she is out of town she cheats and that Della does what she tells her to do.  Kallie can’t believe what she is hearing.  Andi asks her to take her to a dinner theater that she has tickets to.  She can’t take her due to work and won’t let her go alone.  Kallie agrees.  This is not the first event that Andi asks Kallie to take Della to.  It is almost like Andi is pushing the two of them together.  Almost.

Della goes to a cookout at her parent’s house because Andi out of town.  However, when Della arrives home, Andi is there.  Drunk and angry.  She is begins accusing her of having a girlfriend.  She slaps Della and she falls.  The ring cuts her face and her head hits the floor.  Andi leaves.  Luckily she is not knocked out.  She calls her sister & brother-in-law.  They come over and tell her she needs stitches. This scene is difficult to read regarding the abuse that happens to Della and the way that Andi leaves with no remorse.

The relationship deepens between Della and Kallie after the abuse.  Andi shows up a Halloween party at Della’s parents house.  She had seen Della and Kallie kiss. She tries to grab Della, but her mother is able to get her before Andi can.  Then goes after Kallie with a piece of wood.  Kallie trips and hits her hit on a stone.  The cops had been called when she arrived and she is hauled off to jail. Now Kallie needs stitches.  Finally, a restraining order is filed against Andi.  Of course, as a reader I am wondering why this wasn’t done when Della was slapped.

She, of course, violates it.  There are many twists and turns in this story.  I wish there had been some background on Della.  We don’t know much about this character at all.  The romance between the two main characters should have been delayed and back story interjected would have given readers a better understanding about them.

Angela

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Della leaned into Kallie so that their bodies were pressed close together. Kallie finally did what she had been wanting to do since the day she met Della. She reached up and tangled her fingers in that glorious, unruly hair. She had expected Della’s hair to be coarse, but it was soft and warm in her hands.

Then Della’s hands found her breases, and Kallie remembered where they were and what they were doing. It took every ounce of willpower that she’d ever possessed, but she withdrew from Della, backing into the wall at the end of the step. “We shouldn’t do this,” she said in a voice so hoarse with passion she scarcely recognized it.

Della’s green eyes reflected hurt and confusion. “Why not?”

“Because you’re my cousin’s partner.”

Della nodded sadly. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I’ll go.”

Kallie tried to think of something to say that would ease things between the two of them, but no words came to her mind. All she could do was watch as Della walked out the door.

A proud member of the lesbian community, Judy wrote her first book after she retired and hasn’t looked back since. Her books tell the stories of women in love who fight to overcome real-life problems. Judy was born in Oklahoma and grew up in Wichita but now lives in Merriam, Kansas. She has a son who also writes and a daughter-in-law who does paranormal investigations.

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3.5 Stars for Come to My Window by Mia Kerick – #Lesbian #FF #YoungAdult #GenderIdentity

Title: Come to My Window
Author Name: Mia Kerick
Publication Date & Length: January 15, 2015 – 182pgs

Justine Laraby and Kemina Lopez are intimate acquaintances yet they have never exchanged so much as a single word. For months, high school senior Justine, and famed model, “Kemina, the Baby Vixen” of Nightingale Lingerie, have been peering at each other across a narrow alley between brownstones in the Upper West Side of Manhattan. This mutual observation soon turns into the exchange of handwritten messages on signs they hold up whenever they come to their bedroom windows. Via this “sign language,” a friendship grows, and Justine learns that Kemina is, like her, a high school senior, but with a controlling mother and a modeling career that requires her to maintain an unnaturally thin physique. And through the window, she also witnesses her new friend exercising fanatically, hoarding food, and being physically and emotionally abused by her ambitious mother.

Window messages evolve into clandestine meetings and soon a tentative romance blooms. But Justine must come to terms with her own “mommy issues,” as well as accept her gender identity and sexual orientation, before she can provide Kemina with the support she needs to survive a family life that resembles a ruthless business transaction.

Will Justine be strong enough to throw open the window so Kemina can escape society’s suffocating expectations?

I found this to be an unusual and unlikely storyline.  Two teenage girls watch each other from each other’s windows.  They begin writing notes to each other they press up against the window.  It is through this form of communication they develop a friendship which grows into more as they decide to meet outside of their four walls.

Justine attends a private school and Kemina does an online school so she can pursue her modeling for Nightgale Lingerie.  When Kemina is not studying, going on photo shoots, she is exercising in her room and being weighed and measured by her controlling mother.  Kemina’s mother (only known as Mrs. Lopez) is her manager.  She supports both of them with money made by her modeling career.

Kemina invites Justine over one evening via note to the window when she mom is out for the evening.  It seems like Kemina is not satisfied with seeing Justine the few times she has in public.  Unfortunately, their first kiss is interrupted by Mrs. Lopez coming home early.  Being teenagers, they lie and say they were studying.  Justine goes home.

What I did like about this book was the fact that Kemina wants to start a new line of clothing for women who aren’t a size 2 and can be proud of their bodies.  Not surprisingly, her mom goes ballistic and Justine tells Kemina she can stay at her house so she can be safe.

Kemina does start a new clothing line with Nightgale Lingerine and begins spending late nights working with designers.  One evening Justine cannot get in touch with Kemina and is getting ready to go to sleep and looks into Kemina’s old room.  She sees suitcases open on her bed full of clothes, but there is no one in the room.  She tells her dad her fears and they go to Kemina’s house.  I was shocked to read what Mrs. Lopez had done.  She put Kemina in the backseat, gagged her and zip–tied her hands behind her back.  Guess she was really mentally unbalanced after all.  The police are called and Mrs. Lopez is called and is arrested.

This would be a good book for Young Adults who are worried about being a size 2.  They can read this and know it is okay to be the size you are.

Angela

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But it’s not until the screen fills with the image of this baby seal,

all white and fluffy with dark vulnerable eyes that we both gasp a

little bit and then turn to look at each other. I can feel her breath on

my lips and my nose is nearly touching hers, and, well, I don’t know

about Kemina, but I’m all kinds of spellbound by this moment. She

reaches up and touches my jaw, just below my ear, with this soft

brush of her fingertips, and I have no choice but to lean down and

kiss her. Not that I was looking too hard for another option. Cuz I

wasn’t.

I kind of thought that my first kiss would be like an electric

shock or the sharp poke of cupid’s dart or fireworks exploding in a

dark night sky, but it’s not like any of those things. The way it feels

when my lips touch Kemina’s is soft and gentle and tender. It’s a

yielding of her mouth to mine, and then mine to hers. It’s an intimate

moment that’s breathy and warm and sweet and just ours.

“Ummmm….” She lets out this sound that makes me think of

how it feels to sink into a hot bath after a long afternoon of ice

skating in frigid temperatures. “That was my first real kiss.”

“Real kiss?” I ask. Our lips are only about an inch apart. I have

a strong feeling that her second real kiss is only a moment away.

Mia Kerick is the mother of four exceptional children—all named after saints—and five nonpedigreed cats—all named after the next best thing to saints, Boston Red Sox players. Her husband of twenty years has been told by many that he has the patience of Job, but don’t ask Mia about that, as it is a sensitive subject.

Mia focuses her stories on the emotional growth of troubled men and their relationships, and she believes that sex has a place in a love story, but not until it is firmly established as a love story. As a teen, Mia filled spiral-bound notebooks with romantic tales of tortured heroes (most of whom happened to strongly resemble lead vocalists of 1980s big-hair bands) and stuffed them under her mattress for safekeeping. She is thankful to Dreamspinner Press for providing her with an alternate place to stash her stories.

Mia is proud of her involvement with the Human Rights Campaign and cheers for each and every victory made in the name of marital equality. Her only major regret: never having taken typing or computer class in school, destining her to a life consumed with two-fingered pecking and constant prayer to the Gods of Technology.

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3.5 Stars for Loving Anna by Autumn Breeze – #FF @autumnbre33z3

Title: Loving Anna
Author Name: Autumn Breeze
Publication Date & Length: October 31, 2014 – 198 pgs

Amelia Kurt was different. And she knew it. That didn’t stop her from loving her best friend, Annabelle Johnson. They spent an entire summer making love, and growing into what was promising to be the only relationship either ever knew.

Then, one day, the unexpected happens. Anna disappears. No reason, no forwarding address, no number. She was simply gone.

Eleven years later, Anna returns. Her truth is heartbreaking but it’s only the beginning of their journey to recovery.

Amy Kurt attends a teacher conference and gets the surprise of a lifetime there.  The girl who broke her heart 11 years ago (Annabelle Johnson,aka Anna) has appeared and wants to make amends.  However, Amy is not that fast to forgive and forget.  She hails and cab and rushes to her hotel.  Anna chases after her and follows her to her room.  Amy notices that Anna looks sickly.   What follows is a flashback to what happens 11 years ago.  I liked that the flashback helped fill in the holes of the story.

Unfortunately, this story is riddled with typos. I was left wondering if this book was edited.

I was wondering why the boy that Amy’s mom wanted her to marry, that Amy had no interest in, appears after the flashback with his husband.  There was no inkling in the flashback that he might be gay.

There are many ups and downs for Amy and Anna, but they get through them.  I was glad to see that their love prevailed.

It was a good story, but it needed a better editor.

Angela

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In October 1991 Autumn Breeze was born at 11P.M in Clarksville, Tennessee where she grew up in a large family consisting of two brothers, one sister, dozens of cousins, a couple of dogs, multiple cats, and just as many chickens.

In May 2008 she moved to Mississippi with her husband and had a son in November of the same year. She is also the owner of a hyper active dog with a bad habit of chewing on everything including but not limited to shoes, dishes, clothes, feet and hands.

Writing has always been a passion of hers. As far back as she can remember, she has been writing. Paper and pen or laptop and keyboard, she is at home with both.

LOVING ANNA is her first published work.

She is currently working on her second book, GRIM LIFE.

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4.5 Stars for Before I Break by Alec John Belle #MM #YA @AlecBelle

Title: Before I Break (Before I Break #1)
Author Name: Alec John Belle
Publication Date & Length: September 7, 2014 – 306pgs

When religiously raised Cyril Hayes begins his junior year at East Hill High School, every choice he makes suffers a greater consequence, and while facing challenges of friends, family, and love, learns that hate and intolerance are also a very large part of our world today.

Cyril Hayes is seemingly just like any other male his age. He has the perfect girlfriend, Melissa Summers, his best friend, Jake Rivers, and a lawyer father who brings home enough money to support his family and then some. When Cyril begins his junior year, he doesn’t expect his life to spiral out of control when he meets Avery Branson, the new kid in school who has a big secret: he’s gay. At first, Cyril doesn’t handle this truth well, due to the way he was raised, but as the story progresses, he ventures deep into the reality of homosexuality and begins to accept Avery for who he is.

Not everyone is happy with Cyril’s new friend, including Jake, who believes that homosexuality is a sin and is refusing to budge his beliefs. But Avery isn’t the only one at East Hill with secrets, and soon a tragedy will strike, knocking Cyril’s world completely off balance and leaving a scar on his heart that will change his view of humanity all together.

This is a wonderful story because it shows that no matter what you are told in your church regarding gays it only takes meeting one to change your mind.  This is what happens to Cyril. It begins with Cyril Hayes, his girlfriend, Melissa Summers and Jake Rivers, his best friend on the first day of school. Cyril is very excited about starting his junior year. A new student, Avery Branson, enters Cyril’s class and he feels the need to be Avery’s first friend.  Avery is apprehensive and wants nothing to do with Cyril.

Upon reading this and knowing how high school is, I thought maybe Avery is aloof.  He may think he is too good for the students in the school.  However, when I read Avery’s poem that is between chapters you know right away that Avery is not aloof at all, he is this way so he doesn’t suffer any more pain.  You can feel the pain he suffers by reading the numerous poems throughout the book.  I thought it was an excellent way of knowing how Avery was feeling without telling.  They serve as flashbacks as well.

The friendship between Avery and Cyril is up and down.  Cyril has been taught by his church that God hates gays that it has been drilled into his brain for so many years that he believes it.  Cyril does not know that Avery is gay at first.  I cringed when Avery does tell Cyril, because I knew how he would react.  He freaks out, screaming, stating he felt used.  He does apologize and Avery does eventually forgive him.

There is a running story line though out about Jake realizing that Cyril is spending more time with Avery.  Jake can’t understand why he wants to spend more time with a gay guy.  It could be because they went to the same church.  Cyril realizes he has more in common with Avery than Jake.

The ending of the book moved me to tears.  Jake is mentally unstable and does something unthinkable because of the church’s teachings.  Jake has to suffer the consequences of his actions as well.

Angela

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Alec John Belle is an online high school student that resides in the state of Massachusetts. His hobbies include reading, writing, and trying to find out who “A” is on Pretty Little Liars. He writes about tough topics that many are too afraid to talk about like suicide, homosexuality, self harm, cyberbullying, anxiety disorders, addiction, and other teenage issues, and he often blends these ideas with the paranormal. Before I Break is his first novel.

Before I Break is an Amazon Bestseller in LGBT Issues of Teen Fiction, and a sequel titled Once I Fall is set to hit Amazon December 15, 2015. His new paranormal young adult series, The Forbidden Darkness Chronicles, is set to release it’s first three books in 2015.

Alec John Belle has an active Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and previously Blogger before coming to WordPress.

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5 and 3 Stars for Twisted Lives by Ali Spooner – #FF #Romance #Standalone

Title: Twisted Lives
Author Name: Ali Spooner
Publication Date & Length: September 14, 2014 – 230 pgs

A twist of fate leaves Bet and her daughter Kylie stranded at the entrance of the home of Alex Graves, as she flees the control of an abusive husband.
When custom–homebuilder Alex arrives to find steam boiling from Bet’s car and a beautiful child asleep in the passenger seat, her heart goes out to them.
Alex offers shelter to the pair setting off a chain of events that bring both mother and daughter close to her heart and danger to her door.
A heartwarming story of true love that will keep you smiling long after you’ve finished the book.

I love Bet because despite having been in a bad, abusive relationship, she had not given up on love or people. She is determined to give her daughter a better life full of love and happiness.
I love Alex because she gets an idea of what she wants and goes for it. And she seems to always find the good in situations.
This is a great book that will take you on a emotional roller coaster. It will draw you in from the moment you start reading and have you laughing and crying.
I couldn’t help but fall in love with this book. From the small town setting, where everyone pulls together when there is trouble. To the boss lady with a heart of gold, and a soft spot for kids and animals.

Amber

The book started out believable with a woman, Alex, who is described as a tough boss who owns her own business.  I was even fine with the woman, Bet, and her daughter running away from an abusive relationship with her husband and her car breaking down near Alex’s house.

What was not believable to me was the whirl wind romance between the women that happened in a matter of days.  Then the daughter begins calling Alex’s house her home.  It seemed too fairy tale like for me.

Then there is the looming figure of the abusive spouse who finds Bet and his daughter and wants to bring them home to him where they “belong”.  That added an interesting twist to the story and was one I was not expecting.

If you are looking for a love-at-first sight story, this is for you.

Angela

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I am a native Floridian who is temporarily (I hope) displaced in Memphis, TN. for work purposes, however I hope to make it home to a partner of 17 years and our family as quickly as I can. I enjoy photography as a hobby along with spinning a good tale.

I am American by birth and Southern by the Grace of God. LOL I enjoy writing about the south and creating characters and events that I hope my readers enjoy as much as I have in creating them.

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4 Stars for The Breaking Point by Catrina Wolfe – #FF #YA

Title: The Breaking Point
Author Name: Catrina Wolfe
Publication Date & Length: July 23, 2014 – 140pgs

How often do we pass strangers on the street, in shops, at school with lost sad expressions on their faces? How often do we notice let alone try to help? Jodi is one such person struggling in a world where most people don’t notice or care. When her sexuality becomes known to the school by accident she becomes an outcast. Fearing for their daughter, her parents move their family away to start over. It is in this new environment that Jodi meets Carsen who had a similar high school experience. Carsen has problems of her own, a past not dealt with and a rocky marriage to contend with. When she extends a reluctant hand in friendship to Jodi she is surprised when Jodi is not the only one who learns from it. She teaches Jodi strength in adversity, in return she slowly begins to face her own demons.

Jodi is bullied by her ex best friend, her boyfriend and their friend. I could feel Jodi’s desperation in the beginning. Her parents and the teachers do not try to stop the harassment. She feels that there is little left for her to do. She tries to end her life but is unsuccessful.

The parents are devastated by the situation and in their devastation seem to drift away from Jodi. A move might help strengthen the bond between parents and child, but something else happens. I really liked how the realtor convinces her partner, Carsen, to speak to Jodi about her similar experience. There is a feeling of optimism that this book has not had up to this point. Jodi meets a girl who is interested in her, another ray of light. I’m thinking that this book is going to have a happy ending when Jodi has a run in with her bullies. Jodi tries to end her life and is successful this time.

I have to admit this ending to a book really rattled me. With a larger support system, I believed that Jodi could go to these people. The characters really draw you in and you want a happy ending for the girl who was bullied. Unfortunately, bullying takes its toll.

Angela

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TWO 4 Star Reviews for Hellcat’s Bounty by Renae Jones – #FF #Western @renae_jones

Title: Hellcat’s Bounty
Author Name: Renae Jones
Publication Date & Length: October 4, 2014 – 118pgs

Lesbian romance meets adventure in the first Rosewood Space Western.

The hellcat of Rosewood station is the best of the best. Anelace Rios is a good old-fashioned troublemaker, fiercely independent, and best of all, a steady hand with a flamethrower. Carnivorous amoeba are slowly taking over the half-abandoned mining port, and the freelance exterminator rakes in big bounties killing them off—then she spends those bounties in a grand way. Work hard, play hard.

Meidani Sintlere’s reputation is exactly the opposite of her wild friend. She’s the station’s hardworking black market doctor. She’s shy. She’s nice. She’s got a weakness for imported chocolate and pastel dresses. And she gets mad as a sani-vacced cat when Anelace shows up missing chunks of skin.

The hellcat never lacks for a willing partner. Even so, Meidani’s got notions to cut to the front of the line and stay there. She upends everything Anelace knows about good girls and the bad girls who don’t deserve them, and in a blisteringly hot night they go from friends to lovers.

But their new closeness forces the kind of reckoning even tough Anelace can’t escape unscathed. She thrives on her job, relishes the payoff, but now she’s endangering more than her own adrenaline-junkie hide—every run risks Meidani’s happiness. For the first time, Anelace is risking her shot at love.

I absolutely love this world. Love it, love it, love it. When I saw the genre, I knew this was a must have for me, because let’s be honest, how often do you see sci-fi and western wrapped up in one. This reminded me of Firefly right off the bat, only so much better. These characters had a purpose; they had a reason for being who they were without running into trouble every two seconds.

Anelace (beautiful name, by the way) runs around killing these things called blobs. I mean, really? Doesn’t sound interesting? Totally wrong. The extermination aspect to this story is what made it the most interesting. I wanted to delve even deeper into the world Anelace lived and exactly what made hunting these things so much fun and just so dangerous.

This book is great for making political statements, although I wish it had delved even more deeply into them. And this is where my problem with the book comes around. It’s a sweet romance, for the most part, but the romance moves quickly and really doesn’t have all that many problems in it. It seems as if the problem was created out of nowhere. It’s not as though Meidani went into the relationship without knowing how dangerous Anelace’s job was.

I think this book failed on the plot level. There just wasn’t much there. I kept looking for it, and it wasn’t there at all. I missed it. There were so many places it could have gone: immigration, LGBT relationships in a confined and small community, politics of the space ship, scientific in how the blobs were created and how they run amok and how they procreate, and a full romance focusing on the emotions of what these two fantastic characters are going through. There’s mention of all of these things but it’s never dug down deep into. I wish at least one of them had been explored intensely. It would have made this not a spectacular five. Right now, the star rating stands solely for the creation of the world (which is still awesome) and the characters.

I’m definitely looking forward to the next book in this world, simply because it’s a damn creative world in and of itself and I want to see more aspects of it.

~AJ

I enjoyed reading “Hellcat’s Bounty”.  The book features a strong female character who exterminates blobs and she is the best of the best. You can feel Anelace’s excitement when she goes to hunt the blobs and gets a bit more than she expected.

In the book there is romance, suspense and sex.  That makes for a good story, however there are some things I had wished the author had focused on.  Those would be the back story on the spaceship and how the blobs came to be.   This is a sci-fi western book, but many things weren’t explained.

I will be looking forward to reading more about these characters and their world.

Angela

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Renae Jones has an eternal love for badass heroines overcoming danger, talking smart and falling for their perfect match.

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4 Stars for Brokenhearted Necklace: Brokenhearted Boy by A.M. Snead – #MMRomance

Title: The Brokenhearted Necklace: Brokenhearted Boy (Bk 1)
Author Name: A.M. Snead
Publication Date & Length: October 18, 2014 – 107pgs

Haunted by a disturbing memory of brutal intolerance, Lonny struggles to deal with being the only gay kid in his school as he suffers daily from the ridicule and taunts of Quarterback Jack Flemming and his group. Condemned even by his own father, Lonny feels alone and cut off, his only solace in the brokenhearted necklace he wears that carries with it the reminder that things could be so much worse. Wanting only to be invisible, and hiding his heart, Lonny is suddenly drawn out of hiding by Paul – the gorgeous new kid at school – who insists that Lonny is the boy of his dreams, the answer to his prayers.

Book 1 in the Brokenhearted Boy Series

“The Brokenhearted Necklace” pulled me in right away. I could feel Lonny’s misery as he has to deal with the bullies by himself at school and his father who cannot deal with having a gay son.

I wanted Lonny’s mother to be more firm with the father that their son was not going away to become straight, like the father wanted. The fact that the father does not live with them is not fully explained, so she may be afraid to pursue the issue due to being afraid of him. She could have been Lonny’s biggest advocate had she been more determined.

The character of Paul is fearless. I was cheering Paul on when he challenged the bullies in their own games and seeing that he wasn’t afraid of them like Lonny was.

The only thing I did not like about this was the abrupt ending. You are left to draw your own conclusions. I think the way the ending is set up, the only conclusion you can draw is a negative one, but that is my own opinion.

Angela

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A.M. Snead was born and raised on the Pacific West Coast, and continues to live in scenic rural Coos County. Having started writing seriously just two years ago, she began with suspense/thrillers and erotic romance, but soon discovered her true passion in M/M romance and passing on the message that ‘all love is beautiful’ and should be cherished and respected and accepted. Being raised in a conservative Christian home, she grew up with the belief that being gay was a sin. But upon reflection of the bible and what she knew of God, she couldn’t help but believe that this was a grave misinterpretation of scripture and God’s view of the matter. Above all, she hopes to weave the message of God’s love for ‘all’ throughout her novels and help others understand the anguish and torment that gays often suffer simply because of who they love. “No one,” she says, “has the right to tell another human being who to love, or that the love they feel is wrong. That is a very intimate, personal matter between that person, the one they love, and God. It is no one else’s place to persecute them for following their heart.”

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